Matt Smith's Regeneration Re-Write
by timbiloops
Summary: A re-write of Matt Smith's regeneration from 2013's Christmas Special. Somethings are the same, others are not.


Clara walked into the TARDIS. Deep down she knew something was going to The Doctor. She knew she had to be here with him. She looked down and followed the trail of clothes that litter the console room floor. On the console sat a bowl. Fish fingers and custard, something the doctor talked of often, always telling her how good the combination was. _They're about as good of a combination of you and you bowties. _ She thought.

The trail of clothes seemed to end at the top of one of the many flights of stairs in the TARDIS. With caution, she started to descend. Clara stopped when she heard the familiar squeak of The Doctor's boot. She turned, happy to see the same face. "Doctor!"

"Hello." He said. His voice, usually up-beat and cheerful, now it was almost cold.

"You look young again." Clara stammered. "You're okay. I thought you would change your face."

The Doctor laughed, and just for a moment, Clara thought things would go back to normal.

"It's started. Can't stop it now. It's a whole new regeneration cycle now." The Doctor walked over to his bowl of fish fingers and custard and took a sip. Clara laughed. She couldn't help it, she wanted the moment to last forever. No change, just her and her Doctor, together. But that couldn't be.

"This is taking a bit longer. I'm breaking it in." The Doctor walked to the other side of the console, grunting and staggering. He pulled a lever and that magical TARDIS sound.

"It's all just gone in a moment isn't it. Just gone like, like breath on a mirror. Any moment, any moment now, he's a coming. "

"Who's coming?"

"The Doctor!"

"But you-" Clara's eyes started to tear up. "You're the Doctor."

"Yep!" The Doctor's vice grew hoarse. "And I always will be."

The Doctor looked at his hands. They started to glow with regeneration energy. "But times change. And so must I."

The Doctor turned. The sound of childish laughter filled his ears. The room was covered in drawings of his adventures. A small girl with a head covered in red hair ran up the stairs. The Doctor turned again when he heard another voice.

_"No, I'm not Mister Pond. That's not how it works."_

The Doctor smiled. _The last centurion. Oh Rory._

_ "You're got a screwdriver! GO build a cabinet!"_

The Doctor laughed quietly. The good times with River wouldn't be forgotten, she had a place in his hearts. They all did, especially-

"Raggedy man."

The Doctor looked up, there she was.

"Amelia!"

"Whose Amelia?" Clara asked, not able to see the Doctor's hallucination.

"The first face this face saw."

The image of Amy descended the stairs to the Doctor. "Raggedy man." She said again, "Goodnight."

The light from the Time Lords hands started to stretch and fly through the TARDIS. The array of yellows and oranges swirl in a poetic motion. It made Clara feel some sort of peace, that there would be dawn made with the same beautiful colors that swirled before her. But she had to get through the night first.

The Doctor undid his bowtie. "All good things come to an end." He said. He glanced at Clara and gave her a small, soft smile. The Doctor stretch his arms out, the regeneration becoming too much. Soon. Soon, the doctor that Clara grew to love, the doctor she was born to save, would disappear before her eyes.

"Please!" She wanted to reach for his hand, offer comfort to the Doctor and herself. "Don't change. You can do something, change the future. Please."

The Doctor struggled, but was able to bring a hand to Clara's face, careful not to get to close. "Oh Clara. My impossible girl. I can't."

At that moment, the Doctor turned away. A bright flash of light came from the Doctor. Clara covered her eyes. When the light died down, a new man stood in The Doctor's place. He turned, a bewildered look in his eyes. He glared at Clara as if she was a stranger. Suddenly the new man doubled over.

"New kidneys! I don't like the color!"

"Of your k-kidneys?"

"I'll worry about that later. We have bigger problems."

"Like what?" The TARDIS shook and trembled, shaking her occupants inside.

"We're crashing." The new Doctor looked at Clara.

"Would you happen to know how to fly this thing?"


End file.
